April Fool
by Anna De La Fere
Summary: It's D'artagnan's first April with musketeers, so his brothers decide to have some fun.
1. April Fool

"Oh my god, Athos, there's a huge spider on your shoulder!"

Athos nearly jumped out of his skin, hearing Aramis' shout. The marksman burst out laughing, seeing his friend waving his hands around helplessly, as if trying to remove the disgusting creature without touching it.

"April fool!" – Aramis grinned, stopping Athos' hands in their mid-tracks.

Athos frowned and was about to give a sharp reply, when he saw Porthos approaching them. The large man read the situation in one go and gave Athos an understanding look.

"You too, eh?" – Porthos asked, getting a nod from Athos and a shrug from Aramis.

"I can't believe he trapped me again. He's been fooling us for years and still we didn't learn our lesson." – grumped Athos, earning a wide grin from Aramis.

There was a brief silence, then Porthos exclaimed, that he had an idea.

"Tell us."- Sighed Athos, knowing it definitely wasn't a rational idea.

"What about fooling D'artagnan?" – Porthos asked, looking at the two with eager eyes, like a child, who is about to get a candy.

"Not a bad idea". – Aramis finally broke the silence, - "It's his first April with us, so it's forgivable to have some fun, even for once."

Porthos high-fived Aramis and then both shot Athos a wondering look.

"I agree" – Athos said dryly, - "How are we going to trick him?"

It wasn't hard to think of something. Each of their heads were already swimming with possible ideas. After arguing about whether it was too much to play Treville's death or not, Athos suddenly found a solution.

"Porthos!" – He exclaimed.

The men looked puzzled.

"What?" – They asked in unison.

"You were a thief (forgive me for reminding about your past), so how about you "rob" D'artagnan?"

"Athos, I didn't know your mind was full of so nasty ideas". – Aramis giggled.

Athos rolled his eyes.

"So you agree, or not?" – He asked.

"I agree" – Said Aramis, rubbing his hands in excitement.

"So do I" – agreed Porthos.

"Now listen very carefully. Porthos, you go to D'artagnan. He is probably still sleeping in his quarters. You should wake him up and scare him by falsely trying to rob him. Tell him you decided to become a thief again and you have already robbed us. When you find a suitable moment for us to join in, shout "God damn it!" We will be nearby, waiting for your sign." – Athos finished, seemingly satisfied with his plan.

"No over-excitement, he is still a young boy." – Aramis added, although he himself would use every possible way to see a fear in his younger brother's eyes.

"Take my sword, you will need a proof that you have robbed us. Be careful, though, I love this sword, don't ruin it". – Warned Athos.

"Take my pistol too, as I have nothing else". – Said Aramis, handing him his beloved "friend" with a great wariness.

"Ok, so it's settled, right?" – Asked Porthos, making two heads nod almost in unison.

D'artagnan startled awake, As the door banged open and closed with the same noise. There were no candles shinning, so he found it difficult to describe his surroundings, or find out the reason behind so loud noise. Soon he spotted a large figure, roaming elbow-deep in his drawers. An alarming look appeared on the boy's face. Porthos was unaware of it all and kept doing his job for a few more seconds, before all the breath was knocked out of him, as something landed on him heavily, making him stumble back and land on the cold stone floor with a thud. D'artagnan raised his head to look at the uninvited guest and gasped in surprise, recognizing his friend.

"Porthos?" – He asked, not believing his eyes, - "What are you doing in my room?"

"I am robbing you" – Porthos grinned evilly.

"What? Why?"

"Because I am a thief."

"As far as I remember, you left that life long time ago" – declared D'artagnan, crossing his arms over his chest, raising an eyebrow.

"You think so?" – murmured Porthos, trying to hold back his laughter, - "You are as fool as the others."

"What do you mean?"- Asked a very confused boy.

"You thought I joined musketeers to start new life? You are wrong, boy. I joined them to make more money and plus rob some wealthy ones like Athos".

"Do Athos and Aramis know about it?" – D'artagnan was still in shock, but couldn't help but question him.

"No, you are the first one to know. I robbed them this morning without waking them up, but as you woke up, I will have to prevent you from telling others."

D'artagnan's eyes widened in horror as he recognized his brothers' beloved belongings and before Porthos could say something, the younger man punched him so hard, that he landed on the floor for the second time.

"God damn it!" – He shouted, rubbing his jaw.

At that moment, the door opened and Athos and Aramis entered, hats in hands.

"What's going on here?" – Athos asked in his usual calm tone.

"He is a thief! He tried to rob me!" – D'artagnan shouted, pointing his finger violently at Porthos.

"He left that life." – Aramis chided him.

"We all thought so, but look! He stole your pistol Aramis and Athos' sword as well".

The men gasped in shock.

"There's no doubt it was him, who stole my 5 livres." – Said Aramis.

"And my expensive silver watch" – Athos added.

"See? He was robbing you all this time and you didn't know it! You disgust me." – D'artagnan shifted his gaze from the two men to Porthos.

Porthos' eyes watered, but he managed to hold himself back.

"Alright, alright, it's too much." – Aramis moved forward, wrapping an arm around Porthos' slumped shoulders.

"Are you guys mad?! He robbed you!" – D'artagnan exclaimed.

"April fool!" – The three men shouted in unison, before laughing out loud.

"You fooled me?" – Asked D'artagnan, his jaw nearly hitting the floor.

"It's your first April with us, so we thought it would be fun to trick you." – Athos explained.

"Oh" –Was all D'artagnan could say.

"I fool them every year" – Aramis smirked, earning frowns from Athos and Porthos.

Porthos stepped forward, wrapping D'artagnan in a friendly hug.

"Sorry, lad." – He murmured against the younger man's neck.

"No, it's me who should apologize." – Replied D'artagnan.

Before Porthos could reply, Athos said:

"Stop it, you both are innocent."

D'artagnan and Porthos pulled away, both glaring at Athos.

"So, Porthos, could you please give me back my pistol?" – Asked Aramis, eyeing his pistol eagerly.

"Sure"- Said Porthos handing him his beloved weapon.

Aramis looked like a child with a new toy. He hugged his pistol tightly, whispering how much he had missed him, rocking it slowly. The three men rolled their eyes.

"Do you forgive us, D'artagnan?" – Asked Athos.

"Do I have any other choice?" – He sighed dramatically, getting three "No"-s.

They all hugged tightly. The three of them were relieved, that D'artagnan forgave them easily. None of them wanted to empty their pockets in taverns with him to make him forgive them.

"I must admit, D'artagnan", - Porthos said after a while, - "You look very cute, when you are angry. The red color suits you, you know?" – He winked at him, making the rest chuckle.

-Ok, gentlemen, let's go back to our work. Treville will start looking for us soon. Do take your time to compose yourself lad, we will wait for you." – Said Athos and the three musketeers headed outside.

D'artagnan closed the door behind them, preparing himself for a nasty payback.


	2. April Fools

April Fools

D'artagnan was a smart guy. He knew, his friends would understand his tricks if he tried to fool them after a few hours, so he decided to wait until tomorrow. The day was decided, but he still had to think of how to do that and plus he needed helpers. His friends were three against one, so it would be unfair to fight alone against three men. Grinning to himself, he went to see Treville.

"THESE THREE IMMATURE, BRAINLESS, CHILDISH IDIOTS! HOW DARE THEY DO THIS TO ME? ME?! THEIR VERY OWN DAMN CAPTAIN!"

D'artagan nearly fell off the stairs, hearing Treville's angry speech. He stopped in front of the door, trying to decide whether it was a good idea to disturb the captain or not. He stood there for a few more minutes and then knocked carefully.

"Come in" – Came a tired voice.

D'artagnan entered to find Treville sitting in front of his desk, head in hands.

"Are you all right, sir?" – The Gascon asked, clearly concerned.

"How can I be all right, when I feel like I am a father of three immature, brainless children?" – Treville sighed heavily.

"You too, captain?" – Asked D'artagnan, immediately understanding the situation.

Treville glared him for a few seconds and then blurted out:

"Porthos came running here, saying the king was dying. I went to the palace with him right away and nearly killed my horse on the way. The poor one could move no more, but I still urged it forward. You know what happened then?"

"What, Sir?"

"I entered the palace breathless to find the king sitting with the queen completely safe and sound. He asked me why I was there. It was the most awkward situation in my life! I murmured something and quickly got away from there. When I returned, those three idiots were looking at me with a satisfied smiles. "April Fool" – Shouted Aramis, laughing so hard that tears came streaming down his cheeks."

"Then?" – Asked a very curious boy.

"You know I hate being in debt, so I made them clean the stables for the rest of the day".

"So they are cleaning the stables now?"

"Yeah, I hope they will find it funnier than tricking innocent people."

"Helper is found" thought D'artagnan.

"Sir", - He began, - "Don't you want to fool them back?"

Treville thought for a while and then a small smirk crossed his features.

"You have a plan, don't you?" - He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Sort of, but I need your help"

"Tell me and I will decide whether I should help or not".

"I thought I would have to wait for tomorrow, but as I see, it can be done now. In short, you go to them and tell them I've been kidnapped and you have several hours to free me. If not, I will die."

"They won't believe me, D'artagnan".

"Believe me, they will". – Grinned D'artagnan and showed his captain a letter.

Treville read the letter and smirked again.

"You little devil". – He said, clapping the boy on the shoulder.

* * *

"It's unfair!" – Aramis moaned out, putting his pitchfork down.

"Shut up, Aramis, it was your idea to fool him." – Porthos glared at his friend.

"I didn't know he would be so cruel to us. He is also human after all, why can't he understand that April is nothing without fooling people."

"I think April has far more functions and responsibilities, than that." – Athos said, finally getting a word in.

"Oh, you are no fun." – Aramis whined.

The three were about to start arguing, when a breathless Serge entered the stables.

"The captain wants to see you." – He blurted out.

The trio looked at each other confused, but followed him outside.

"Gentlemen, this is the letter I received about 10 minutes ago." – Treville said, handing them a piece of paper.

Athos took it and began reading aloud:

"Dear captain Treville,

I believe you know it's hard to get to know someone fully. People sometimes hide their real faces, their cruelty builds a wall, so strong that no one can get through. You probably won't believe a word I say now, but it's all true. Your newest musketeer, the young Gascon named D'artagnan is a murderer. He killed my sister. How could any normal man forgive such thing? My only mission right now is not to let my sister's murderer walk on earth even a day more. You are an honorable man and you will probably understand what I'm going through. In a word, I am taking D'artagnan with me outside the city. I must kill him in the same place, where he killed my dear sibling. Don't start looking for him, as it will be too late and I will rather die, than let him go."

Although the men were horrified, they still had a small suspicion. Athos looked at his captain in the eye, trying to figure out whether it was a joke or not. But Treville was well prepared and stared back at his musketeer unblinking.

"We must find him!" – Panicked Aramis.

"It can be too late now." – Athos pointed out.

"I believe we still have time." – Said Porthos.

"Get the horses ready, you must leave now, before he kills the poor boy." – Said Treville, pouring himself some wine.

The three men ran outside, without waiting for further instructions. Treville sat back on his chair, an evil grin quirking his lips.

* * *

"Do you think D'artagnan is guilty?" – Asked Aramis, urging Belle to move faster.

"I think he is as innocent as a newborn child." – Athos replied.

"I agree with Athos", - Said Porthos firmly, - "D'artagnan is a good boy. He would never kill a woman."

The musketeers roamed outside Paris for the rest of the day, but found nothing.

"Let's go," – Said Athos sadly, "There's nothing more we can do".

"We can't leave him!" – Porthos growled. His mind couldn't imagine dead D'artagnan.

"Yes, Athos, let's move forward. We will be terrible brothers, if we let him die". – Said Aramis, ready to move his horse forward, when a hand on his shoulder halted his movements.

"We did everything we could," – Said Athos softly, - "We should go."

With a great difficulty, he managed to convince them to go back. It wasn't like Athos didn't care about his comrade. No. He was burning with guilt for letting another brother die, but knew he couldn't do anything more. D'artagnan was dead. Nothing could change that.

* * *

By the time they returned to the Garrison, it was midnight. Each man's head was lowered in guilt and shame as they entered the captain's office.

"April Fools!" - Treville and D'artagnan shouted in unison, startling them.

"What?" – Asked Porthos, an alarming look settling on his face.

"It's not only you who can fool people." – D'artagnan smirked at them.

The men looked speechless, but soon everything sunk in.

Before D'artagnan could say anything more, he was suddenly wrapped in a friendly hug. Treville joined them too.

"You are supposed to be angry." – The Gascon said after pulling away.

"It's ok, maybe we deserved that. Just don't scare us like that ever again, deal?" – Asked Athos, extending his hand.

"Deal" – The boy replied, shaking his mentor's hand.

"We forgive you too, captain, thanks for apologizing." – Aramis said sarcastically.

"You are welcome, gentlemen." – Treville smirked.

The four musketeers headed outside to go to their quarters and get some good sleep. The three of them were exhausted from riding all day, while the youngest one was exhausted from excitement. He was happy, that he finally got his revenge. Although he didn't know their brothers' endless tricks would start from the next year. It was his first and last time that they just let it slide without punishing him. They would never be so kind to him anymore.


End file.
